Pale Midnight
by Randi of Eschaton
Summary: This is the long-awaited sequel to Black Star. Please R
1. Default Chapter

If you read this before, read it again. It might not look like it in the beginning, but it's been changed...drastically...and there's an addition to the family. Imagine Eschaton's insanity, Duo's madness, AND Nekomon's physical traits. And shrink that down to a seven year old. Make that male...multiply by two. Yup. It's that bad. Oh yeah, I also forgot to mention someone else...o well, you'll see them soon enough (  
  
And just so you know...I took a little over a year long 'vacation'. Ok, I was too lazy to write, so sue me. I hope you like this one; it'll probably be a bit shorter for soon to be obvious reasons. I can't WAIT to start on the third one!  
  
Prologue  
  
It was nearly a decade, but his anger and hatred were still consuming him. He would find that wretched being that had caused his pain. Yes. He would. She would beg him for death when he found her, but death was too good for her. She would not die until he had tired of her screams...and that would take quite some time. He closed his eyes, relishing the cruel thought, but was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Sir, are you ready to look over the new mobile suits?" He smiled calmly at the young woman at his door. "Of course, General Saran. Please, tell the others I will be with them shortly." Saran walked out of the room with a smile on her face.  
She closed her eyes and tried to imagine him when he was younger...it was difficult to imagine him as anything but what he was when she knew him. He was a tall young black man...a little older than thirty. He was definitely handsome...in a strange way. His scarred features made him look like someone who had undergone a lot of suffering...but he had never told anyone of what that suffering was. She thought back to the day he was found. His body was burned and broken, and but for his eyes the men who found him would have said he was dead. He had not spoken much, but when he was brought to the future Minister's home, he had healed rapidly, some scars on his body being the only lasting tokens of his crash. A few years later, the Minister died of a heart attack, and he was begged to take the empty office. He accepted. He charmed the other world leaders...and fortunately charmed the colony leaders as well. He created a peace for all the Earth and Colonies...but there had been a few uprisings. He proved himself a capable leader and fighter. He would not send others to fight the wars, he would fight them. He would often challenge the leader to single combat. And he always won. With such political and martial skill, he often managed to form alliances which should have been otherwise impossible. After a year and a half, he had united the globe into a single league of nations. Once again, he was begged to take over leadership. He had become the most powerful man on the world and in the colonies. This man...Cirrus Reprisalen...  
  
He was perfect.  
  
"If you don't get over here right now...I'm warning you!" Duo shook his head even as he was shouting. He had no idea being a father was so tough. "Hey crazy...ya want we should go get 'er?" "Yeah! We just gotta get some sugar and throw it at 'er!" Duo grinned at the thought. "Naw, she'd probably jump down and land on top of you...did that to me once...knocked me off my feet and nearly broke my neck." Eschaton, now going by the somewhat less apocalyptic name of 'Kat', heard him and let him know she did. "I did not! That was your fault! If you hadn't been so busy staring you woulda seen that chunk a junk headin' for your head! Course, if I'da let it hit ya, it would've broken worse than you woulda..." She wriggled uncomfortably in the tree. She should learn to control herself better.  
The twins ran off for some sugar, just in case Duo allowed them to try their idea. Duo and Kat's five year old daughter, Willow, stood looking up at the tree. She cocked her head at her mother's predicament. Duo grinned at her confusion. A shout from Kat brought his eyes back up to her. "Heya, crazy, 'mind me never to climb trees just cuz one of the monsters set a trap for me an' tossed something shiny in it." Duo had an idea. "Well, d'ya 'member when you were captured at Terra? I don't think I ever told you the name of the rescue mission. Operation Firefighter. Should I call one of the boys in yellow to help you down?" She laughed at the name, just as he had thought she would years ago. But at the idea of a firefighter being called to help her...well, she was slightly angry. She jumped at him. And landed on him. And proceeded to punch him. They got into fights quite a bit. But they were never mad at each other, they just liked fights. Willow cocked her head still further, her tiny tail twitching as she watched confusedly. Shrugging, she climbed into the tree.  
  
It had been the same ever since they met each other. Except for whenever she, thanks to her horrible...and good...luck, was recovering from wounds, and when she was pregnant with the twins. The twins had taken after their mother in many aspects. Their reflexes were almost better than their mother's at the age of seven. Although they looked more like their father, they shared Kat's limber skeletal structure and her cat-like traits, as well as her sometimes-startling intelligence. Although young, they were already learning at an eighth grade level.  
Somehow, regardless of Moose's predictions that they would be 'normal', the twins had inherited the pointed ears, fangs, and claws their mother had possessed. They shocked the former Black Star members when they were babies. Havoc had tickled one and he clawed her. Peter, in town for one of the few visits he had made, rolled his eyes and muttered something about needing serious counseling when Havoc started howling and Steve rushed in. It was a very odd sight, with Steve jumping around like an idiot, Havoc howling, Kat and Duo laughing, and the twins looking confused with their claws extended.  
The twins, luckily (or unluckily, depending on who was asked) seemed to have the same temperament as Duo. And, unlike Kat, they LOVED sugar. But unfortunately, they had a mischief streak a light year wide. There was one memorable instance when they stole a prototype mech. It was small, only about 12 ft. tall. It was barely big enough for them both to fit into. They went into a 'rampage', visiting every ice cream place in the city. After all, who would refuse ice cream to two cute little kids...with a mobile suit, no matter how small it was? They were finally caught when they tried to get into the Aquarium of the Americas. Jace, Duo, Kat, and a bystander (who soon became a friend of the family) lured them out of the mobile suit with, of course, more ice cream. Although the incident was laughed about and discussed whenever gossip was short, most people just accepted it as 'normal' for the Maxwells.  
Willow, on the other hand, was 'different'. Five years old, she had never uttered a single word. Small and delicate looking, she could have doubled for her mother when Kat was her age. But her stripes were paler, as was her skin. There was an odd silvery quality to her skin, but it was more an optical illusion, created by the contrast of stripes and hair, than the actual pigmentation. Her tiny pointed fangs were longer than her brothers'. Her eyes were a beautiful golden color, and very expressive. As catlike as her mother, she walked without a sound. New Orleans natives were often 'spooked' by her. It was quite disturbing for a small five year old to look at you with golden eyes before gliding into a shadow. That just wasn't supposed to happen with five year olds.  
  
Naya and Ko were back...but unfortunately they had decided the sugar looked too good to throw at their mother. So they ate it. And they were HYPER!!! They took one look at their parents and began arguing. "Hah! See, see! I told you they would get into a fight before we got back!" "Noyadidn't ya big liar! You never said anythin' like that! You just said the sugar would work!" "How could you say that! Of course I said they'd get into a fight! They always do!" "I'll give you a fight you liar!" "Hey, no fair!" The twins began fighting. Luckily, they decided against using claws. Anyone walking by who wasn't a New Orleans native would have thought it was strange. Anyone who had lived in New Orleans within the past eight years wouldn't even look twice. That was just the way it was with the Maxwell family...in fact, many people were careful to take no notice of the...eccentricities...of the husband and wife. The man of the family was a cop who walked the streets of the French Quarter...but the wife...now she was the wild one of the family. She didn't act...normal. It was rumored that she was one of the hustlers of the French Quarter...selling broken watches one day and 'fine antiquities' the next. That's if she was around. She disappeared quite a bit. Only a few of them really knew what she was doing when she wasn't around. Those few were: Naya, Ko, Willow, Duo, and a retired police chief. Jace Alexander. Jace was a grandfather figure to the three children. He often called them the 'Maxwell Kittens,' which usually provoked the twins to attack him. Jace loved the entire family, but had a special soft spot for Willow. When he saw the tree in the courtyard, he told Duo for months that SOMEONE would get stuck in that tree. Sure enough, he found the house empty when he walked over. Hearing Kat shouting, he walked into the courtyard that connected their homes. He raised his eyebrow curiously as he looked over at his goddaughter and Duo fighting. Then shook his head and walked over to the fighting couple. "I see you managed to get her down out of the only tree over ten feet tall in about a quarter of a mile. Now how about getting up and saying hey to your godfather?" Kat leapt up and ran to him, jumping up so she could hug him and kiss him on the cheek. "Heya Jace!" He looked down at her, feigning a solemn glare. "I said say 'hey', not 'heya'. How ya doin' Kat?" She grinned at him. "Well, fine, but I'm still going into mental crises over ice cream, you know, the sugar...the milk...the mental distress... I'm saving up for psychological help...but then again, the next time I think about going to a shrink, I'll probably hit myself and get sent to the hospital, either that or I'll have to call up Moose!" Jace slapped her on the back when Duo, who had gotten up and walked over to the two people, put his arm around her shoulders. "Hey Kat, what's goin' on?" There was a SPLASH! as the twins fell into the small pond that made up the center of the courtyard. Kat almost shrieked as she was coated in water, then turned to Duo. "Well crazy, looks like your turn." Duo scowled at her. "Hey, I thought tigers like water!" Kat sighed. "Yes...but I only like water if I feel like being in it. A little swim now and again, but under water is out of the question...and if I don't want to be wet, woe to him who gets me wet!" She glared at Duo, who shrugged and walked over to the pond, where the spluttering twins were still struggling to beat each other up. He reached in a hand and yanked both of them up by the hair. "Hey! Stoppit ya stoop!" "Yeah, leggo a me! Leggo, leggo!" Jace couldn't help but roll his eyes at the insane quartet.  
  
A day later.  
  
Duo walked up and down the street, looking for anything that could develop into trouble. He heard someone speak, then another voice, this one was angry. He stopped to listen. "C'mon, c'mon, try yer luck! The gent wasn't a proper example, he don't possess the special eye. Find the nine of diamonds, also known as the scourge o' Scotland seein' as ta how an order to begin a battle was written on it...won't tell ya what battle cuz I can't 'member. Lucky lady, will ya try? How's 'bout you kid, fancy a go?" "You're a cheat! It's a scam, it's all rigged!" The card man got up, nimbly catching himself from tripping over the drunk's leg as he was talking, hardly missing a beat. "I'll 'ave you...know...that at this particular moment, seein' as ta how me career's ona 'igh note, where exactly the scourge be located. 'Member now, don't touch, jus' point me lucky lady! 'Ere it is, right in the center, now watch it lucky lady, it goes left, right, stays there, left, oops, don't blink!" Duo walked over. A small group of people were gathered around a rickety old folding table. One man was clearly drunk. He was yelling about con artists, scams, and cheats. The man running the table was doing his best to ignore him, and was doing a good job of it too. He quickly moved the cards around with a professional air. The woman pointed to the card in the center. Flipping it over, he made a show of exclaiming, "There ya go me boys and girls! One lucky lady finds one scourge! What d'ya win ya ask? Why, a kiss from meself! Just kiddin' there ould sir! Don't worry 'bout yer lovely wife, the real prize is this gorgeous watch, a gen-you-wine imitation Rolex, made right 'ere in the grand ould U. S. of A! A course, by 'made' I mean packaged 'ere after bein' made in 'Ong Kong. Well, 'bout that packaged, more like stored 'ere after bein' made in 'Ong Kong an' packaged in Tokyo." He packed up his cards and table, talking to the small crowd as he was packing up. "Er, I 'opes you 'ave a nice day...where'm I goin' you ask? Well, seein' as ta how I hain't taken a vacation in 'bout seven years cuz I was too busy givin' sweat n' blood ta earn money fer me dear ould mum's medicine...bless 'er soul, she died last week...well, as I was sayin, I says to meself, I says, 'Now mate, I allus 'eard Kokomo was nice this time a year, and the folks down there hain't never 'ad the delight o' learnin' of the scourge a Scotland, I says now, why don't I go down there an' learn em some eh? An' then, seein' as ta how me advice is allus good and I allus take it, I decided, soon as I get enough wampum, money, lolly, or h'whatever you deem ta call it, I'm gunna go down there an' educate em!" He slipped off as the drunk reeled around and saw Duo. "It's the god of death! Run! Demons, black demons, GYAAAH!!" The drunk ran off, running into people, poles, and parked cars (he was lucky that he didn't run into moving cars). Duo grinned and shook his head, then headed in the direction of the card man. He found him shrugging out of his trench coat in a doorway. "Well, I'm sorry sir...er...ma'am?" The t-shirt under the trench coat revealed the card man was actually a card woman. Hmm....just what is she doing, he thought, blinking in surprise. She tried to dodge away, but Duo grabbed her by the arm, holding her as she struggled. "I'm going to have to take you to headquarters. It just ain't right to con people..." "I wasn't connin' anybody, you no good excuse for a traffic cop!" Duo looked at her...now he had NO idea what the deal was, and he was annoyed by her insults. She suddenly stopped and looked at him in surprise, her voice reproachful with a slight hint of a whine. "Ow..." "Sorry..." he mumbled, letting go. She ran off, ducking into a side alley. WHY do I fall for it... Duo ran of after her, still muttering to himself. He was catching up to her when she turned and saw him. She dropped the small folding table, almost making him trip, but he somehow managed to stay on his feet. She glanced over her shoulder again, but this time she tripped over a box and fell, hitting the back of her head on the gravel ground in the alley. She didn't get up. Duo bent over her, then stiffened as he felt the muzzle of a handgun press against his back. "Hello there, Gundam. Get up girl, you've done your job, now take the money and get out of here before I decide to kill you too!" The young woman scrambled to her feet, clasping the money he threw at her and running dizzily. She turned as she left the alley, winking at Duo mockingly and blowing him a kiss as she bowed. Duo's captor fired his gun at her, the silencer muffling the sound as the bullet tore a scrap of cloth from her t-shirt. She ran from the alley like a bat out of hell, not even looking back. "So I've finally found the famous Duo Maxwell. You know something that I want to know. Every time I come near, she disappears. You can be slightly difficult to get a hold of as well. I was lucky enough to come across a young woman who needed money. I had a feeling you would react to complaints of a card con. Oh don't worry. She won't escape us. I managed to hit her clothing with a tracking beacon when I fired. We'll find her and kill her before she can report us to your friends. But, business before the pleasure of killing you. We want your wife." Duo's eyes narrowed for a moment before he answered. "So that's the thing. Well, I'd like to see an incompetent idiot like you take her down. She could kill you without even breaking a sweat." The man laughed. "Hmm, so you've progressed...no more monosyllabic answers. As to what you said...yeah, right! She wouldn't even be able to do that to me, and I'm not the only one. Meet my friends, Gundam!" A group of shadowy figures streamed out of a doorway. Duo was completely surrounded. As he looked around him, the first man pulled a syringe from his pocket and jabbed it into Duo's neck. The last thing Duo saw before passing out was one of the men giving him a cautious wink. He had gray eyes and white blonde hair.  
  
The woman swiftly ran through the allies, dodging behind a dumpster as soon as the opportunity presented itself. She looked down at her t-shirt, ripped by her 'employer's' bullet. She sniffed irately. At the very least, the idiot could have been well trained...the tracking beacon was literally hanging by a thread. Her ears twitched as she detected the sound of the garbage truck. Grinning wickedly, she tore the beacon from her shirt and tossed it into the dumpster. Those idiots might be forced to follow it to carry out their story of her being unconnected. Shaking with malicious mirth, she picked up a garbage bag. It had a splash of white paint on it. Opening the bag, she pulled out a new looking grey backpack. Knocking twice on a nearby door, she threw a brick into a pile of garbage...which happened to contain a tape recorder, playing a tape of a woman gasping, and then screaming loudly. She ducked behind the door as it opened. The man who opened the door heard the sound and walked over to investigate. Silent as a shadow, she ducked through the door and headed into the bathroom. Closing and locking a stall door, she removed her disguise. There was a golden flash of claws as she removed her t-shirt. For a moment, a long striped tail showed below the stall partitions. Then it seemed to shrink out of existence, accompanied by a low grunt of pain as the woman's bones cracked and popped, squeezing against each other. A small woman with reddish brown hair walked out of the stall, glancing at her makeup in the mirror. Applying a little lipstick, she smirked in satisfaction. One down, one to go.  
  



	2. PM, Ch 001

Chapter 01: A New Old-Nemesis  
  
Kat woke up just about in time for lunch. After scoffing a meal that would have taken four other people to eat, she yawned and left the kitchen.  
  
Bored, she lazily switched on her computer. Turning on Instant Messenger, she immediately IMed TotalliRaNdOmGIRL. Setting up her webcam, she began speaking the moment a face flashed across her screen. "Hey, Leigh, I'm bored. Duo's not here, so he must've come over after his shift and picked up the monsters...figures, him not waking me up...he must've taken them to Café Du Monde. And Willow's over at Jace's house. Could you come over?" The brunette on the screen nodded once and began to get up. "Wait! You idjit! I haven't even told you where to go!" Sighing, the girl sat down. "For some odd reason, I had a feeling that you meant you wanted me to come over to your house. Also, I was hoping that I could get out of here before that flaming toothpick of a landlady gets back. You know she's insane and would probably want to know where I was going, the dope." Kat sighed. "Yeah, right. Whatever you say."  
After Leigh turned off her computer, Kat sighed again and turned around at a strange thumping sound. She stiffened when she saw Naya and Ko on the floor, both semi-conscious with large lumps on their heads. She sniffed warily. Strangers... she hissed in her mind. But something else was wrong. She was having trouble thinking clearly. She was angry, way too angry. Swiftly stooping down to pull a small vial from a hidden compartment in her shoe, she swigged the formula inside. A few moments later, she had become the Eschaton again. Whoever messed with her family had just messed with her. And that was a mistake. Herding the groggy Naya and Ko into a secret room under the gigantic desk, she began her search for the attackers. She bared her long fangs and sharp Elendium claws as she snarled fearsomely. They were going to pay.  
  
Leigh turned off her computer, grabbed a jacket from Hard Rock Café, and ran from her apartment, slamming the door as a thin woman with orange hair shrieked, 'WHERE ARE YOU GOING?' Rolling her eyes, Leigh ignored her and continued out of the building. The landlady continued shrieking questions, but finally gave up when it was clear that Leigh couldn't hear her...from two blocks away.  
When Leigh got to Kat's house, she immediately knew somethin was wrong. The door was open, and the normally loud home was eerily silent. Leigh felt a chill go down her spine as she shrugged off her jacket and pulled a knife and a gun from the inside of her shirt. Slipping the knife into the back of her belt, she snuck into the home.  
  
Naya and Ko listened, but couldn't hear anything other than the echoes of their own footsteps. "Ko? What happened?" Naya's voice sounded small and scared. "I...I dunno? Where'd Mom go?" Ko and Naya pushed on the trapdoor, but something was blocking it. "We've got to get out of here," gasped Naya, fear on his face.  
  
Duo woke up with a splitting headache as he stared at the ceiling. He was in his house, lying across the kitchen table. He slid down and hit the floor. "Owww..." he groaned. His head felt like it was exploding. He remembered getting knocked down...something being injected into him... He saw something on the floor that made him forget his headache. It was a long, black claw, broken. He looked around more, his head clearing. There was blood splattered on the floor. He looked down at himself. There was even blood on him, as though someone had thrown himself...or herself...over him, bleeding terribly. His hands shook as he picked up the sharp black claw. It was one of Kat's.  
He heard banging and muffled shouts. In a daze, he staggered through the kitchen into the study. He saw the desk. "That shouldn't be here..." he muttered under his breath. There was more pounding. His mind still numb with shock, Duo could still barely understand what was happening. He tried to move the desk, but couldn't. He heard Naya and Ko shouting, "Mom! Dad! Somebody, help!!" Finally, he realized his children were trapped underneath. "It's alright, I'm here. Gimme a minute, ok?" Throwing himself against the desk, he managed to move it a little. But the jarring impact brought his headache rushing back. As he slid to the floor, he groaned again and pressed his hands to his eyes, trying to block out the flashes of light which were blinding him.  
  
Leigh heard the groans and followed them into the computer room. She tensed herself before peering around the corner. When she saw Duo leaning against the desk, she gasped at the blood on his shirt. Duo looked up and recognized her as one of Kat's friends. "It's ok...just help me move this desk!" Leigh nodded and stuck her gun into her waistband. "Er, your shirt...?" Duo glanced at the blood. "It's ok, I'm pretty sure none of it is mine." She didn't look very relieved. "Uh, any idea as to whose it is?" Duo shrugged as they struggled to move the desk. As Duo opened the trapdoor, the twins jumped out and on him. "Where's Kat," Leigh asked them. "She wanted me to come over." Ko looked worried. "Dunno...she was here and then, BAM, no idea what happened. She pushed us down here, but I know she didn't push the desk over right away. Naya pushed the door open a while ago...but next thing we know, we're stuck." Duo shook his head. "This is weird..." Adding in a whisper which only Leigh could hear, he said, "I think we should get everyone we can find together...it might be starting up again. If only Kat were here!"  
  
The brunette growled angrily. "How could you have allowed him to escape?" She had been ranting for nearly an hour on this same subject. "If you had gone after that freak, he would still be in our control." The man who had led the group of people who captured Duo was as angry as she was. "Listen, Tahnee, it's as much your fault as it is ours. More your fault, even. You were in charge; you bungled it when you decided to act like a total idiot with those cards. I could have done that easily, but you had to show that you were just as good as Eschaton was at disguises. You could have subdued her; you're even stronger than she is! So don't give me any of that crap about it being MY fault! You were the idiot! You were the braggart! You were the person who should have captured her...single- handed! And you refused!!" Tahnee laughed mirthlessly. "What, you and your little groupies were overwhelmed? He was unconscious, so were her kids! You should've been able to use them as hostages!" "We DID!" he countered, his face reddening with anger. "That's the only reason we have that cat...I was about to shoot him because he looked like he was going to wake up. She threw herself over him and got shot. But she STILL would've gotten away...IF he had woken up. In the end, it was either she left with us or he died. And believe me, we couldn't have brought him along if we had tried...took five of us to hold her back AFTER she had been cuffed."  
Unable to refute his logic, Tahnee growled again and gulped something from a bottle. Wincing as her skeleton stretched and her tail regrew, she couldn't help but smile in grim satisfaction as Blaine shuddered at her transformation. She casually extended one golden claw to run across his cheek, tickling his chin. "Of course, my dear Blaine, please, forgive me. I should have realized your trouble. It is difficult enough to serve our 'master' when we are united. Why should we make things more difficult by fighting like, forgive the pun, cat and dog?"  
Blaine smirked as he took the bottle from her hand. Taking a sip, he set it down on a table. He grew taller, stronger. His black hair became grayish as his eyes took on a greenish-yellow tint. He began to look unshaven as a thin layer of fur covered his cheeks. His fingernails grew slightly longer, much harder, and sharper. His ears became pointed. His smile was quite literally wolfish as he grinned at Tahnee, baring long, deadly canines. She purred as she turned to look at their new prisoner, who was beginning to come around, groaning as waves of pain from her wounds overwhelmed her. "Why does it always happen to me..." Kat muttered.  
"So, our prisoner is awake. Hello, Eschaton. Welcome to your hell." Kat stared at the younger woman standing before her. She was a physical double to the wounded Eschaton. From a distance, except for her hair, she could be mistaken as a younger version of Kat.  
  
Duo was pacing back and forth. The surveillance cameras in the kitchen confirmed his worst fears. He had been used as bait, and Kat had knowingly stepped into the trap. For the twentieth time that night, he hugged his sons, realizing how close he came to losing them. "Dad...it's ok, you're being all weird again. Let's just worry about Mom, ok?" Duo nodded, closing his eyes as he tried to concentrate. He couldn't remember where he had been when the men surrounded him.  
It was office 320, the same office Miyaku had been imprisoned in long ago. Alexander Worthington III walked into the room. He had changed out of his tattered clothing and was wearing a well-tailored suit. His cultured British accent was easy to understand as he began listing people. "Sage couldn't come. Neither could Tricode. Sage is in an airport in Dallas, being held up by supposed terrorist threats. Tricode is in a computer console in Lafayette, making terrorist threats against an airport because one of his ex-girlfriend's is on a plane in Dallas, heading over to Lafayette, most likely to shoot him. Miyaku is five months pregnant. Ririku just had her third child last Monday. Havoc and Steve are trying to find somebody to watch their 3 year old son and 1 year old daughter. Ignition is in Canada with Bogle. Moose is in Houston with Tarantula...Zechs and Noin are on Mars. Zechs was injured when he fell down the stairs. Noin is in a hospital after throwing Zechs down the stairs because he didn't have pickles...or something, I'm not entirely sure why she went berserk...and apparently, one should not throw people down the stairs when one is pregnant. No reason for alarm, she's fine, just a little bit over- exerted. Shanaiha and Heero are...somewhere. I have no idea where. Alandriel is pregnant. Wufei finally got a job as a postal worker, so he can't come for a while."  
At this point, Quatre walked into the room. "Quatre is present and accounted for," he said cheerfully. "And I'd be willing to bet half my money that Wufei will be here within the week. He got fired 12 times because of 'antisocial tendencies.' Although I wish I could have seen him in a postal worker's uniform...could you imagine him in those funny little blue shorts, being chased by a rampaging poodle?" Alexander gave him a very refined glare and continued. "Rhiannon is nowhere to be found. D and Richard are on their way. They seemed to know about..." he broke off and glanced at Duo. "They were on their way when I contacted them. And that's it...most of us are gone. Others shouldn't come. Some of us are new. And the rest...well, the rest don't exist." Duo shook his head again. It seemed impossible that the once tight-knit group had gone in so many different directions.  
  
The door opened. Steve, followed by Havoc, walked into the room. Each was holding a child. Steve was carrying his daughter, Melody. She quietly looked around the room with happy blue eyes. Havoc had her hands full with a three year old boy. "Steeeeeeven! If you don't behave, you can't play with the baby python!" The little boy froze and instantly became the very picture of good behavior. "'Allo! An' what're me mates up to now, eh?" Steve's sunny smile did little to lighten Duo's mood. "Would you sit down! What are you doing, bringing two babies in here! This is serious!" Alex looked startled by Duo's bad temper. "Duo, calm down...they couldn't find anyone to watch their kids on such short notice...be glad they came period." Leigh, although she felt sorry for Duo, didn't want the others to realize he was almost out of control. "Now," she continued, making use of Duo's surprised silence, "we need to think. Why did whoever it was attack you and your family at this particular time?" Duo shrugged miserably, but Leigh continued. "I think it's because they've been watching ya'll. Otherwise, how else could they have attacked at such a bad time? Think about it: Miyaku, Noin, Ririku, Ignition...everyone! They're either out or too far away. And Zechs...well, who's to say that Noin attacked him? There might have been an 'accident' arranged. And what about Tricode's ex? Couldn't she have been planted? Couldn't she REALLY be trying to kill Tricode? Rhia's disappeared, Shanaiha and Heero are gone...plus, Kat hadn't even been in her real form for months! She's been taking that time-release stuff Moose made. It's like we're being watched, all of us. We're being set up."  
Peter rolled his eyes. "You're being paranoid. It all seems a little suspicious, I must admit that, but you're paranoid. All of those have innocent explanations." Leigh glared. "Oh yeah? Prove it!" Peter began to logically explain things. As he went on, Duo felt as though he was going numb. He didn't notice Peter glancing in his direction every now and then. He heard a scratching on the door. Without really paying attention, he stood up to open it. He looked down into the golden eyes of his daughter. She reached up for him to pick her up. As he sat down again, Jace jogged in. "Where has that little...oh, good, you found her. She ditched me ten minutes ago and I've been running around like an idiot ever since." He smiled fondly at Willow, who merely gave him a quizzical look.  
As Peter's explanation ended, Leigh jumped back up. "Ok, that's all fine and dandy, dearie...but how can you explain Wufei getting a job as a mail man?!" Peter opened his mouth, and then closed it again. A perplexed expression crossed his face. "Oooooooooo-kay. Maybe you're right. Nobody in their right minds would let Wufei handle mail." Leigh sat back down on the table, crossing her legs and arms, a triumphant expression on her face. But slowly, the magnitude of what was happening dawned on everyone. This time, they were all in the crosshairs. Each member of Black Star, whether old or new, looked around. This time, they had families. They weren't crazy young adults with nothing to worry about anymore.  
  
Steve's mouth hardened into a grim line. He looked at Havoc, who was holding his son. As he looked down into his daughter's eyes, he made a decision.  
  
"I say we fight." 


End file.
